UN blast bomb tests

THE United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August, calling them “grave violations” of a ban on all such activity.

In a statement agreed by all 15 members, the council also called for a redoubling of the efforts to implement sanctions, and stressed the need to reduce tension in the Korean peninsula.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov “have achieved clarity on the path forward” in Syria, but have “narrow issues” to resolve. The two held talks in Geneva to try to find a way of reviving the peace...